Ginger Crumble and Stone Fruit Pie

The warm summer weather in Southern California has extended into fall, which means you can still purchase summer fruit at the market! In the last attempt to enjoy the flavors of summer in a sweet pie, I grabbed my favorite stone fruit; peaches, nectarines and plums. I topped the pie with my favorite ginger pecan and almond crumble, and at last, the endless summer ginger crumble and stone fruit pie was created.

I used a pate brisee (classic pie dough) crust recipe for the pie base and made fluted edges for the crust border.

I filled the crust with a mixture of plums, nectarines and peaches, flavored with cinnamon, ginger and sugar for a touch of added sweetness.

I then added the ginger pecan and almond crumble on top of the fruit, and since I had some extra pie dough, made some heart cut outs for some extra love.

The pie had the perfect combination of sweet and tartness from the stone fruit. As the pie baked, a beautiful and delicious natural jam was being created below the surface. I had extra fruit and dough left over, so I even made mini free form tarts and froze them so I could enjoy the fruits of the summer when ever I want a little treat!

I gave one of my favorite families from Orange County this pie as a thank you present, and my friend Jill told me I should name it the “Endless Love Pie”, because they enjoyed it so much! The greatest joys of baking are when you get to share what you love with people you love! If you enjoy crumble pies like I do, I have another Stone Fruit Crumble with Blueberry and Almonds recipe you should check out.

Sift and combine the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl, then add the butter and toss to coat with flour. With your hands or a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour, tossing and incorporating any pieces of butter that have settled at the bottom of the bowl, until the butter pieces are no larger than a pea. Drizzle ¼ cup of the water over the top and, using a fork, mix the dough until it just holds together when pinched. Knead the dough until it is completely smooth and the butter is incorporated.

Divide the dough in half (you can decide to make a double crust, or just use one crust and top with crumble). You can use the other extra half of the dough for a mini pies or another large pie, which you will have to make more filling. Shape each dough into a 1-inch-thick disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or for up to a day.

If the dough is too hard to roll, let it rest at room temperature for a few minutes. Lightly flour the work surface and the rolling pin. Lightly dust the top off the disk of dough with flour and roll it out to a 13-14 inch round about ⅛ inch thick: roll outward from the center, rotating the dough frequently and adding a little flour to the work surface or dough as needed to prevent sticking. Fold the dough in half and transfer to a 9- to 10-inch pie plate, gently easing the dough into the corners and up the sides. Fit the larger piece of dough on a 9 to 10 inch pie plate, letting the excess dough hang over the edge; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 40 minutes, then transfer to the freezer and freeze for 20 minutes.

Pie-

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, and preheat a baking sheet for the pie to be baked on.

For the crumble topping, grind almond and ginger cookies in a food processor or place in a bag and crush with a rolling pin.

Add the chilled cubed butter to the mixture. Using your fingers break down the butter into the mixture to create small pea sized pieces of butter in the crumble topping. Once mixed, press the crumble together gently to form larger crumbles.

Refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

Mix flour, sugars and spices in a small bowl, reserve.

Slice the nectarines, peaches and plums; mix with flours sugars and spices, reserve.

For the filling, mix flour, sugars and spices in a small bowl, reserve.

Slice the nectarines, peaches and plums; mix with flours sugars and spices, reserve.

Remove the crust from the freezer, let sit until the crust is pliable. Create a fluted edge with the dough edges. Add the filling, and top with 1 cup of crumble. Add extra decoration if desired.

Brush crust with egg wash (1 whisked egg, as needed).

Place the pie on top of a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the bottom of the crust in golden brown.

Bake at 425 degrees F. for 15 minutes with the top covered with foil to finish cooking the bottom of the crust.